cindyjo

thanks for all the good advice. we are deciding between two apartments, one on rue cler, one in montemart.
we are intrigued with montemart. this area is east of sacre couer a bit so is not right in the very touristy area or place pigalle etc. does anyone have any experience in this area. my one concern is the distance to tourist sites. thanks.

mclaurie

I personally wouldn't pick either. Rue Cler has a market and can be very noisy depending on where you are and Montmartre, as you say, is not very convenient to see other areas. Keep looking.

Budman

We stayed in an apartment in Montmarte on Rue Cortot. Loved the area. A few blocks away from Place de Terre.

We just walked to the funicular and took it down to the metro -- took either the Anvers or Abbesses.

Rue Abbesses and Rue Lepic is a great area to wonder -- lots of restaurants, markets, cafes.

Where's the apt in Montmartre located?

kappa

If you do a search (on this forum or elsewhere), it would help to spell correctly as Mclaurie and Budman did, Montmartre.

StCirq

I agree with the poster who said he wouldn't stay in either location. I love the rue Cler area, but if the aprtment is ON rue Cler, I'd forget it. It's a market street and the vendors set up early and the noise from them and the crowds could be considerable. As far as Montmartre is concerned, yes, it has its attractive parts, but it's just not central enough IMO, and parts of it are rather seedy.

Christina

I also wouldn't choose either place for an apt. I would never want an apt. right on rue Cler (or any market street like that). As for Montmartre, I could see that for someone who knows their way around Paris a bit and has made multiple visits. I don't think it's convenient for a first-timer. I know there are exceptions, as Budman was one, I guess. I wouldn't recommend the area east of Sacre Coeur for casual first-time visitors and think it would be inconvenient in any case. I suppose you are talking about the Chateau Rouge area. That's a lower-income ethnic immigrant area. Colorful, but maybe not what you were expecting or mainly interested in for a first visit, although I did go there in the day time a few weeks ago because they had a group from Mali I was interested in.

Budman

Christina, you are probably right for a first-time traveler to Paris. Stay around the center attractions, the 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th, etc.

I guess I'm more street savvy than the first-time traveler. We stayed in the 18th and had a great time in the evenings, visiting the tourist centered areas during the day.

My wife had never been to Paris, and is afraid (sometimes) of her own shadow, but never felt uncomfortable in the Montmartre area. She would have said something.

A lot of people dis the area, but we found it wonderful.

StCirq

Budman: I don't "dis" the Montmartre area at all, nor would I dispute that it has its wonderful qualities, but I suspect somehow you were pretty savvy about your whereabouts in Montmartre. Years ago, before I knew Paris very well, I several times went up to Montmartre and late at night found myself wandering in parts of Paris I did not feel very comfortable in, because I hadn't done much homework and just assumed all of the city was pretty and safe.

For someone who is going to Paris for the first time and who may not know that one métro stop in Montmartre is fine and another a few blocks away not so fine, it could be a rude surprise. The Pigalle area is potentially intimidating, and it's easy to find yourself there when wandering around Montmartre - just hike down the hill and - oh! - sex shops and prostitutes galore! NOT (well, maybe) a pleasant surprise for the unwary.

Plus the poster said "my one concern is the distance to the tourist sites." If that's the ONE concern, then Montmartre is clearly not the best choice.

Budman

StCirq, yes, but you know, if you just happened to accidently wonder down to the Pigalle area, I don't think anybody would bother you.

Spygirl

For the past several years, Montmartre has been a popular residential area for young Parisians to buy homes -for that reason, I think it's really quite safe and quiet-it has nice squares, with good local restaurants- Le Basilic on rue Lepic is one, also the area around rue des Martyrs, rue Victor Masse, is quite atmospheric-with little wine and cheese shops-very Parisian-(this is the area where Degas and other Impressionist painters lived and had their studios). You might enjoy the local flavor of Montmartre, and with the metro, no part of touristic Paris is too far away!

Flyboy

"East of Sacre Coeur a bit" can include some pretty dicey neighborhoods, in my view -- particularly as you venture in the direction of Gare du Nord. It's certainly true that Montmartre has a wonderful village aspect to the neighborhood and parts of it are about as classic of a Paris experience as anyone could ever ask for. Still, I have a hard time suggesting it for first-time visitors. A good idea might be to plug your specific address into:

www.lespagesjaunes.fr

Take a "walk" around the neighborhood you are considering to get a better feel for it.